Casalone Winemakers

28 Apr Casalone Winemakers

It doesn’t happen every day to meet a family that has been producing wine for 8 generations, in a span of almost 300 years. When Ernesto welcomes us in the Casalone family estate the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly: “My son and my nephew are at work in the cellar: you have to hear some stories from this grandfather” talking about himself and smiling.

The Casalone family history has always been linked to wine. “I am very passionate about history and in time I have managed to discover all my family roots“: Ernesto showed us ancient maps and copies of the parish archives dating as back as 1700. “My ancestor Petrus Heironimus settled here in 1734 from Switzerland. He was a farmer and started to grow vines“. Since then we have always been living in Lu Monferrato, mastering the winemaking tradition.

Simone is the youngest winemaker in the family, Ernesto’s great nephew. He tells us more about the wines: the Rus (Red in Monferrato dialect) is one of their flagships. Assembled from grapes of Barbera, Merlot and Pinot Noir, matured separately in oak barrels, is an example of their expertise in winemaking. The name of their Pinot Noir, Fandamat, hides an ironic joke: in the local dialect fandamat are the kids very likely do go crazy. “Pinot Noir’s vinification is like these kids: so difficult to control!”

We follow Ernesto and Simone down to the cellar, surrounded by vintage concrete tanks, oak barrels and bottles of sparkling wine in fermentation, Ernesto tells us another wine story, the one of the Malvasia: a sweet wine that historically was imported from Greece by the Venetians in 1500. “In 1976 we decided to recover this tradition and replant the vineyard. The wine then took its name from the Greek town where the vine came from Monemvasia. It is an aromatic wine which is very popular abroad: it is giving us great satisfactions”.

The Casalone wines are bound to quality: “We have only 10 acres of land, located all around the town of Lu Monferrato. Our aim is to stay here and keep the family traditions: we want to make simple wines, and for us, simple means high-quality wines”.

We left the Casalone family with a good supply of wine and the promise to meet again. You also can visit Casalone Winemakers by booking an appointment and taste their delicious wines!

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Monferrato Delights

Is a not-for-profit project run by local volunteers of Wanderlust Association.
We tell stories, trace itineraries and give you a variety of information about Monferrato. Lived and recounted by locals for travelers and the curious alike.